Claude Neon Limited was a Canadian outdoor advertising company, originally founded in 1904 under the name The E.L. Ruddy Company. In 1973, the group consolidated all of its operations and subsidiaries under the single Claude Neon name, and Gottschalk+Ash was appointed to create and launch a new identity for the company.[1]
Design and History
The logo work was developed by Freddi Jaggi under the direction of studio principal Stuart Ash in Toronto, where the client relationship existed, and Fritz Gottschalk in Montréal, where Jaggi also worked.[1] The identity was one of the first examples of adaptable identity systems.[2]
The flexible identity consisted of five versions of the initial letter “C”, each developed according to a grid, and reproduced in combinations using two of the four base colours.[1] The overarching theme of the identity was “change is the only constant”.[1] The fast-changing roadside billboard industry was underlined in each different iteration of the C logo, which went through a metamorphosis, according to a grid, in each different application, and also featured different combinations of four colours.[3]
The identity system was documented through a series of specialized manuals. The Vehicle Identification Manual, produced as a practical working document, provided detailed instructions for the application of paint, graphics, symbols and markings across the company’s national fleet. Five variations of the graphic symbol, each derived from a square, were to be distributed evenly throughout the fleet, combined with twelve approved colour combinations.[4]
Claude Neon was incorporated in Canada in 1929 as Claude Neon General Advertising, Ltd., changed its name to Claude Neon Advertising, Limited in 1965, then to Claude Neon Limited in 1973. It was acquired that same year by Combined Communications Corp. of Arizona, and subsequently changed its name to Mediacom Inc. in 1979.[5]
Logo Index is an independent educational archive covering logos, visual identities and graphic design history. All trademarks and brand assets remain the property of their respective owners.
